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old picture I know, but the rod was a 110 years old when I was fishing it in this picture!!! Smiles not dollar signs.

I was not on the forefront of any movement in this sport. Nor do I claim to have invented anything in this wonderful microcosm in which in have invested my life. Then, I feel it has been a long time since something truly new, and fresh has come along in the game of advancement in equipment or technique. To be honest, things in the R&D deparment of our industry have been in a state of arrested development for a while now. All and all this wound not seem to bother me as much as it has in the past few years, but looking at the new ideas of “high end” industry standards one cant help but wonder.

There are tons of choices out there be sure and cast them all educate yourself on what you want/need instead of just throwing money at it.

Now I have also caught fish of numerous species on all types of quality and price range dispersion of fly rods and reels. I have even had some real sweetheart setups over the years, that I still find pleasing to fish today. When confronted with the modern forms of marketing, one almost feels that the days spent on the water were worthless and the fish taken with at times great personal sacrifice were a farce, because you did not have the latest and greatest rod on the market. I can honestly say that no rod or reel has ever set an alarm for me, nor has one helped me hike or get to where I need to fish. Fishing should be out of passion and enjoyment. Fly fishing should stem from the heart, not the pocket book. I feel the equipment you own should not reflect how much you love the sport on price but on how dirty the cork is, how worn the ferrules.

Nice bundle of diversity there!! No one better than the other, all frozen, lol

We now are consumers in a time in fly fishing history where boutique rods are being out priced by standard out of the box high end models from the large corporate companies. Now I am not saying don’t buy nice stuff or that the high end stuff is not good or nice… i am saying that the new rods I have cast both on the market and to come in the near future, are still just like to one you own. I am saying a fancy new color, or name that is tough to pronounce is not worth over a grand. These types of things push people away from our wonderful sport. I want to get more people involved not scared. I want to own a fly rod not mortgage my house.

This might be a few to many for a day trip!!!

All this has been my 2 cents, but I hope other start to see it too. If you new rod is that good, that much better then what we have had show us. When the next big this comes we will all be ready. All I am saying. Hope you all are getting out and fishing somewhere for something!!!! Enjoy.

Well I will be doing some travelling this year and wanted to get the word out about when and where you can find me. I will be at SOR of course this year, but the day after I will be giving classes for the first 5 people that are interested. This class will focus on the Distance aspect of Spey casting, so if you are going to be hanging around after the tournament contact me directly and we will set it up.

I will also be in New York in July for the “Spey Nation” event. I will be offering 2 days of casting classes. as the first day is very closet to being filled up. I have been told this is a wonderful clave and I am really looking forward to going and seeing the sport through a different location. Again contact me for details. http://speynation.com/

As always I will again presenting at the Sandy River Spey Clave”. I was wanting to see if there were enough people that want to do a cast on that Monday after the clave. I will need at least 4 people for the class, so if you and your buddies are ready let me know. If your travelled all the way here to see the clave don’t leave with out learning something that you wont anywhere else in the world.Sandy River Spey Clave

I will be presenting and attending the Clearwater clave and will be available to set up classes while i am there. Poppy is a great guy. He can help set it up or just email me at speycaster@hotmail.com.

I must say that as Steelhead anglers we get caught up in a set way of doing things. Now don’t get wrong I have an opinion about everything to but if you change rivers, or change conditions should you also change?

Great way to start a trip!

I was recently on the Clearwater River in Idaho. The River is huge! Did the fish take different flies? No. Did we use any special casts? No. Did I change fishing tactics? Yes. With a name like the Clearwater you might think that the river was clear. It was basically unlimited visibility. So fish in that are in the river are going to see you fly. How are they going to react?? Nobody can say. I do know that the more water you can cover the better your odds of finding a fish. So I started taking 4 steps between each cast. On rivers like my home water of the Deschutes we would move at half that pace. There was the first change.

New rod worked out well, I would say.

I also love fishing Spey rod around that 13′ to 13.5′ range. To me it just feels comfortable in hand and it is no problem to fish all day. On the Clearwater the runs are long and wide. Fishing 5 or 6 runs a day would be a chore and with today’s short rods and scandi lines you cant cover all the water with very much efficiency at all. Now I am not saying you cant catch them on short rods and lines but I will say the further you can cast the more fish you will catch on the Clearwater, and the Snake for that matter. The uses of a rod in the 15 foot range is a better rod for the job on these rivers. I was consistantly fishing at 130 to 140 feet. With this in mind over the course of a day and a half I brought 5 fish to my fly landing 3 of them. The distance was the definite factor in the results, and Bruce Kurk (total Bad Ass).

Jet boats kick ass. Only way to go on big water.

Moral of the story is adapt to the rivers and what it takes to move those fish. The more rivers you fish the better angler you will ultimately become.If your on the Clearwater and need any info or to buy some flies, or just want to meet a great guy go see Poppy at the Red Shed Fly Shop.